Suspicious Windows Service Executing Batch File from Temp Directory

PremiumReviewedSigma · High · v1
Product
windows
Service
system
Author
HuntRule
Published
2026-05-25
Updated
2026-08-28

ATT&CK techniques

Persistence → Priv Esc
  1. Recon

  2. Resource Dev

  3. Initial Access

  4. Execution

  5. Defense Evasion

  6. Cred Access

  7. Discovery

  8. Lateral Movement

  9. Collection

  10. C2

  11. Exfiltration

  12. Impact

What it detects

This rule detects Windows service creation whose ImagePath runs cmd.exe against a batch file staged in a temp directory, observed by Huntress where a masquerading service named WebrootCheck launched a batch file from c colon temp. Attackers register a legitimate-looking service to execute attacker scripts with SYSTEM privileges and persist. A service that runs a temp-directory batch file combines a benign-looking name with a suspicious execution context and is a strong persistence indicator.

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Detection content is published as a reviewed draft. Tune thresholds and exclusions against your own telemetry before enabling this rule for alerting.